This is the second article in my series on GDPR considerations for Microsoft Dynamics 365. If you are not aware or not sure in details what GDPR is and how it impacts Microsoft Dynamics 365 Solutions and Projects, then please read my first article in this series.

In this article, I’m trying to cover Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM readiness for GDPR which is due to be effective on the 25th May 2018. In summary, Microsoft is committed to bring all its products, services and processes to be compliant with GDPR by May 2018.

For Microsoft Dynamics 365, there are many ways where you can design your Dynamics 365 CRM Solution to manage and control access to your data. Some example approaches include the following capabilities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform:

Role-based security in Microsoft Dynamics 365 allows you to group together a set of privileges that limit the tasks that can be performed by a given user applied against a specific Dynamics CRM entity or specific task/action privilege. This is an important capability, especially when people change roles within an organization and directly impact data protection and security.

Record-based security in Dynamics 365 allows you to restrict access to specific records using capabilities such as Access Teams in Dynamics 365 CRM

Field-level security allows you to restrict access to specific high-impact fields, such as personally identifiable information and sensitive data such as sexuality, religion and ethnicity/race.

This is significantly essential for GDPR compliance and I have personally been involved in applying these considerations to some of our ongoing Dynamics 365 projects to ensure our Dynamics 365 solution is in compliance with GDPR in advance. Similarly, all current Dynamics 365 projects and live Dynamics 365 solutions must be updated and modified to ensure compliance with GDPR using these and similar capabilities.

Microsoft confirms they have mandatory processes and encryption restrictions within Dynamics 365 both Online / Cloud and on-premise to comply with GDPR. Some of these include:

Security Development Lifecycle: a mandatory Microsoft process that embeds security requirements into every phase of the development process. Dynamics 365 is built using the Security Development Lifecycle.

Encryption: in transit between your users’ devices and Microsoft data centers, as well as while at rest in a Microsoft database. This helps protect your Dynamics 365 data at all times according to Microsoft. This restriction particularly applies to Dynamics CRM Online / Azure Cloud.

Disclaimer: I’m not a GDPR or Data Protection expert but a Dynamics 365 one. All posts on this blog including the GDPR series are provided as is with no warranty and are the product of my research and understanding. Please speak to a legal or regulatory advisor if you need an expert GDPR opinion. However, you can speak to me if you need an expert #MSDyn365 opinion! 🙂